When Beach House's Victoria Legrand and Alex Scally released their debut self-titled album in 2006, the music community was slowly introduced to a group of the ethereal kind; a kind that harbored deserted yet connective songs, a saltier, more seductive wisp of a voice that strained to be heard, and musical arrangements that would convince even St. Michael to lay down his sword and ask the devil for a dance.
As 2008 rolled along, so did their second album Devotion, which paved the dream pop masters a fresh road toward much earned publicity and major positive exposure among a less than forgiving community. With Devotion came an even more devoted fanbase, which of whom naturally spread word of a sound that searched deep down in the untouched abyss' of the dream pop realm.
If the Book of Revelation is the Second Coming of Christ, then Beach House's masterpiece Teen Dream is the Second Coming (or Third Coming but whatever) of an innovative, powerful sound that will surely encompass all of humanity (or at least college students and all of Williamsburg/Brooklyn).
Teen Dream, the third and by far best album of all three, pleases the ears of the longtime Beach House fan, using all its sensitive, mellowness to construct an even larger following from which it once slowly bloomed. Teen Dream is also the first result from the Baltimore duo's recent joining of Seattle's SubPop, a move that collectively gave them the confidence to experiment with a more open sound as if there are eight people in the band rather than two. The approach to Teen Dream is minimalist, which seems to work perfectly. Using only keyboards, electric guitar and the occasional percussionist, it shouldn't come as any surprise that this is all it takes for Beach House to make an amazing album.
Legrand and Scally exhibit the best of their abilities for this album, ultimately coming together to form the better part of a whole. Guitarist Alex Scally serves as the back bone of the group, delicately forming crescending guitar phrases that emit a total emersion of Seventies soaked cool. "Zebra" shows classic examples of Scally's guitar playing using slowly sweeping riffs, bringing the listener back down to Earth with simple guitar lines. Legrand's voice is the perfect combination of silky and salty seduction. But what matters most is the consistency of Legrand's voice--a consistency many singers can't do with consecutive albums, and if they do, it never sounds exactly right. If you want perfect consistency of Legrand's voice besides Teen Dream, check out Legrand's vocal part in Grizzly Bear's performance of "Two Weeks" on Conan O'Brien.
Each song on Teen Dream is listenable beyond compare, ranging from one listen to three or four listens all the way through. "Walk in the Park" is the unquestionable gem of the album with a pairing of droning organ and a lazy, moping guitar riff. Scally's memorable tremolo part in the chorus is really, truly memorable and catchy. "Take Care" has Legrand leaping high and low for longing. "Lover of Mine" takes the listener back to the underground of discotechs before cocaine and a donkey was even an option. The one thing that's weird on the album is the listing of "Used to Be," which was originally released as a single on an EP which is in a totally different musical arrangement. The Teen Dream version is, undoubtedly good, but the first incarnation of "Used to Be" is much more favorable.
Teen Dream proves that Legrand and Scally know what they were after. This labor of love will easily be one of the best albums of the year, making 2010 the year for tight competition already with the release of Surfer Blood's Astro Coast, Charlotte Gainsbourg's IRM and the coming of new album's by She and Him, Yeasayer, Gorillaz, and The Strokes just to name a few. But whatever the verdict, Teen Dream has set the bar for the 2010's future albums, making Legrand and Scally the true King and Queen of teen dreams.
Rating: 90/100
--Mike
Beach House - Walk in the Park
Amazing stuff. Good work music... I think it's getting me an A on this paper.
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